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Jak III
Jak 3 is the third released (fourth chronologically) in the Jak and Daxter series, it is the final installment in the trilogy. As the game became a hit on the shelves, developer Naughty Dog released yet another Jak and Daxter installment called Jak X: Combat Racing a year later, as well as the PlayStation Portable game Daxter. Story and plot The plot is about a war in Haven City between 3 factions. The Freedom League, the Metal Heads, and the KG Deathbots. (Although The Metal Heads and the KG join forces later on in the game.) Jak 3 begins with Jak being banished from Haven City by Count Veger for his supposed crimes towards Haven City. Ashelin gives Jak a beacon before she leaves with Veger and the guards. Pecker and Daxter stay behind with Jak as he is left in the Wasteland. As they trail along the painful deserts, they all pass out from the heat and lack of water. They are found by a group of scavengers due to the beacon, and they are taken to the city of Spargus. Jak and Daxter then meet Damas, king of Spargus, who has an important missions for Jak. If Jak completes these missions, Damas will allow Jak to stay in Spargus. Jak accepts this offer, and he and Daxter go through several intense objectives, such as battling giant Metal Heads in one of many dune buggies of Kleiver's in the desert. Pecker becomes an advisor to Damas. As Jak endures the heroic missions, he meets recognizable friends from Jak II such as Ashelin, who begs him to return to Haven City. Jak refuses to go back due to his anger of being banished, even when she mentions that Haven City is overrun by KG Deathbots and Metal Heads. As the story progresses, the dynamic duo encounter very strange and twisted creatures. They later learn after using the Astro viewer that these beings are Dark Makers. Jak learns that the Dark Makers were once Precursors, but succumbed to the exposure of Dark Eco, and in the process, became evil. What Jak discovers in the telescope is a Dark Maker spaceship, and it is proceeding towards the planet. Jak and Daxter learn that the only way to rid the evil coming towards their planet is to activate the planetary defense system. But, there's a twist: the location of the planetary defense system is in the planet's core. And so after taking care of some Deathbots and Metal Heads, Jak and Daxter begin their trek to the Planet Core. On their way, Jak and Damas team up to fight their enemies, but their vehicle was overturned after being hit by a missile. Jak survived, but Damas is fatally wounded by being crushed under it. but Before dying, Damas shows Jak the same pendant necklace that had been found on Jak's younger self in Jak II. Once Damas is gone, Jak realizes that he was his father. Veger reveals to Jak the truth and heads toward the planet's core and Jak presses onward. Once at the core, they meet a small quorum of Precursors. These Precursors, who after a trilogy of games were unknown, turn out to be Ottsels like Daxter, and send them to the Dark Maker ship to buy some time as the planetary defense system charges. The mission is a success, but not completely, for a giant spider-like mechanism comes crashing down on the ship, and Jak is forced to battle in one last fight. It is during this fight, as Jak ascends to the peak of the mechanism, that Jak meets Errol once again. Errol is now a cyborg remaining with just half of his face, after his terrible and explosive collision with his zoomer and some barrels of eco in Jak II. After a climactic duel, Jak defeats Errol and the Terraformer. It is presumed that Errol is destroyed with the terraformer as he was shot by Jak's Peace Maker. The story ends with Jak and Daxter with their allies, celebrating their mighty victory against the evils that nearly destroyed the planet. The Precursors have the ability to change Daxter back, but instead Daxter just asks for pants, which he'd often talked about wanting throughout Jak II and Jak 3. After wishing she could have a pair of pants just like Daxter's, the Precursors grants Tess' wish by turning her into an Ottsel. Count Veger had also been turned into one, after asking the Precursors if he could be like them, without knowing at that point what it meant. The game ends with the Jak revealing that his birth name was Mar, the legendary warrior. The Precursors ask Mar to join them to see the universe, but Mar just stays behind knowing he couldn't leave Daxter behind. Gameplay Like its predecessor, the gameplay of Jak 3 is a blend of platforming, driving, and gun combat. The player is led through the story as they complete missions, assigned by the various characters in the game. Missions can consist of anything from defeating particular enemies, reaching a specific location, or completing a puzzle. With the exception of timed or otherwise linear missions, the player is free to explore the game world as they see fit. Special machines set up around the levels also assign short, non-plot-related tasks; completion of these goals will reward the player with currency-like Precursor Orbs, which can then be used to purchase cheats. Cheats, made available as the player progresses, can upgrade weapons, flip the game world around into a mirror image of itself, or grant the player invincibility. After the game has been completed, the Hero Mode option is made accessible, which, when purchased, allows the player to re-play the game at a harder difficulty level. As Precursor Orb count is not reset, and the orbs are regenerated at their original locations, the player is able to regather orbs that he or she had already collected the previous time they played through the game. Collecting all 600 Precursor Orbs has some cosmetic effects on Jak's appearance, but has no effects other than this. In Hero Mode, Jak also keeps all twelve of his weapons. There are some differences between Jak 3 and Jak II. Most notably are the changes undergone by the Haven City environments. While Jak II provided the player with four different types of guns, Jak 3 expands on the concept with two additional modifications for each type, ending with a total of twelve weapons. Also, the 'Dark Jak' form, introduced in Jak II, which allowed the player to transform into a more powerful version of Jak, is countered by a 'Light Jak' form that mainly focuses on defensive abilities. As well as the hover vehicles within Haven City, Jak can drive a variety of offroad vechiles in the desert. Battles Jak still have in addition to his trademark moves the Morph Gun, but each mode now have two new upgrades. The Morph Gun can be upgraded from the secrets menu for Precursor Orbs. Each mode can be upgraded entirely or Jak can have an upgrade on one weapon. Also Jak is still able to transorm into Dark Jak, with mostly the same powers as in Jak II, but with the new Dark Strike, and without the Dark Giant mode. During the game Jak gets the ability to transform into Light Jak. Both sides has their secrets in the secrets menu and both can be entered at any time having the needed Eco, which can be collected from defeated enemies or Vents. Locations The game has three major regions to explore: Haven City, Spargus City and the Wasteland. While the Wasteland does not have many inhabitants, it is a great, and only place to drive the Dune Buggies. Across the Wasteland is an isle with the Monk Temple and can only be reached by the Dune Hopper, since the islands are too far to jump with a standard vehicle. Haven City is the more futuristic area of the game. With the old style of the port to the New segment of the city, it is a great area to explore with the Zoomers. Spargus City is a desert town owned by Damas, then by Sig. This city is only inhabited by trained survivors that are all armed with Wastelander Rifles. Bosses * Dark Satellite (Site of battle: Desert Oasis) * Precursor Robot (Site of battle: Eco Mines) * Cyber Errol (Site of battle: KG War Factory) * Dark Maker Terraformer (Site of battle: Wasteland) * Cyber Errol (Dark Maker Terraformer) (Site of battle: Wasteland, on Corrupted Terraformer) Transport Also the game offers players an opportunity to ride some old and new transport. The old-known is Jet Board, Zoomer, Dark Maker Bot, which is the same as Titan Suit, Leaper Lizard (which is similar to the Flut-Flut) and lots of turrets in different style. The all-new transport is the Buggy in eight models, each with it's own characteristics and weapons. The Buggies are used to travel through the desert, race, collect artefacts and so on. Later, the Buggy gameplay model was transformed into a full game - Jak X: Combat Racing. Weapons The weapons in Jak 3 are based on only one gun given to Jak in the tutorial. However, Jak collects modifications during the game in four types: Red ammo (Shotgun), Yellow ammo (Sniper Rifle), Blue Ammo (Sub-MachineGun) and Dark ammo (Magnum Rifle). The Red guns contain moderate ammunition and is the first style of weaponry given to Jak in the game. The first weapon that Damas gives to you is called the Scatter Gun, which fires red blasts at enemies. Other weapons, such as a grenade launcher and a shock wave gun are earned later on. The Yellow guns contain high ammunition and is the second style of weaponry given to Jak. The first weapon, the Blaster, is given to Jak with his first Battle Amulet. It fires long-range bullets at enemies. This can be upgraded to a floating turret or a bullet that ricochets off walls. The Blue guns contain high ammunition and is the third style of weaponry given to Jak. The first mod is called the Vulcan Fury, and acts as a sub-machinegun with rapid-fire. The second modification, the Arc Wielder, works greatly on Death Bots. The Dark guns have extremely low ammunition, but is extremely powerful. The first mod, the Peace Maker, fires an energy ball at enemies and shocks nearbys. More are earned during the game. Reception Jak 3 received overwhelmingly positive reviews, such as an 8.6 out of 10 from Gamespot, a 9.6 out of 10 from IGN, and a 9.25 out of 10 from Game Informer magazine. Its average review score is an 84 out of 100 from Metacritic and 85% on Game Rankings Category:Jak and Daxter series